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No Fear in Death

5/29/2016

1 Comment

 
​Benjamin Franklin, in a 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy made the comment, "'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
 
Of course, we could probably add a whole lot to that list if we really wanted to. But one thing we know, we know that one day we will die. James 4:14 puts it rather bluntly…. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
 
The most common reaction to discussions about death is fear.  We fear death.  But why?  Why are we so afraid of death?  Or, to put it another way…. why do we fight so hard to extend life as far as humanly (and as scientifically) as possible?  Why do we fear death so much and treat it like an enemy that has to be conquered at all costs, especially when we know that we will all submit to it in the final battle?
 
I think part of the reason why we resist death so much is because we were never meant to die.  Death was not part of God’s plan for us when he created us.  We were not designed to die – and frankly, I think that’s one of the reasons why we have such a hard time with it.  In a way, death is unnatural – even though it has become very natural.
 
So why do we die?  We know that death came as a result of sin.  Of course, the warning was there.  When God placed Adam in the garden and told him about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God warned him, “for when you eat of it, you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). And in that sense, death reminds us of our own sinful nature.  “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23).   And “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  But there is also more. The very next statement is that the gift of God is eternal life.
 
While death is a forgone conclusion… there is also more.
 
In 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57, Paul was writing to a church that was concerned about death.  And in reference to the work of God he said “’Death has been swallowed up in victory.’  ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 
“The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56).  That agrees to what we already read in Genesis. If there were no sin, there would have been no death.  But now there is death.  It can’t be avoided. But the power of death has been broken because the power of sin has also been broken. We still die, physically, but death has no power over us – it merely becomes a transition to eternal life. In essence, for the believer at least, death becomes the passageway to victory. Which takes me back to the question I started with earlier… why then are we so afraid of death?
 
When a runner is running a marathon… I don’t know how many miles that is, but it’s a lot.  Does the runner see the finishing line and say, “Oh great…. now my race will be over” and pout across the line? Of course not!  He or she sees that end and gets excited. We see the end and we tremble, moan, groan, etc.  Why?
 
Instead of seeing death as a defeat, or even a symbol of our sinful nature, we need to see death as one who crosses the finishing line into victory; where the power of sin no longer has any dominion over us.
 
Paul even used that imagery in his second letter to Timothy, in 4:7-8.  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will aware to me on that day…” That doesn’t sound like someone who is facing death kicking and screaming – resisting it to the very bitter end?  No.  He knows his work on earth is done and he’s ready to cross the line.  No fear.
 
Listen to how he expresses it to the Philippians.  He wrote: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).  That’s amazing!  It’s not a loss…. It’s a gain!
 
Going back to the Corinthians in a second letter, we see why Paul is so confident. “We are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…”  And then he goes on to say he “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). To die is gain because he will be with the Lord!  What could possibly be better than that?
 
There was the time when Lazarus was sick and his sisters (Mary and Martha) had called for Jesus to come.  Remember what Jesus did?  He intentionally delayed before he went to see Lazarus – who was only 2 miles away.  What’s two miles?  A 40 minute walk?  Maybe 45 minutes? Jesus waited even though he knew Lazarus was dying.
 
Sure enough, by the time Jesus came, Lazarus had been dead four days! Do you remember what Jesus said, when he was comforting Martha?  “Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Even though a person dies physically, they will live on spiritually, with a new body – eternal life.
 
That is why death is a non-issue.  Death has no power.  It has no sting. 
 
Yes, I know we will miss people – of course we will – we’re attached to them.  And yes, we will grieve and mourn – I understand that.  I have no problem with that. But in the overall scheme of things, death is a transition into eternal life – it’s a day of victory. It’s a day when there will be no more mourning or crying or pain. It’s a day when we will be free from the burdens of this world – and the temptations of this world. It’s a day when we will be with the Lord – forever.  That’s the best part of it all!
 
But it didn’t happen that way by itself.  Remember, “the wages of sin is death”.  What happened to that? Hebrews 2:14-15, “he [Jesus] shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
 
Jesus broke the power of sin.  Jesus sets us free from the fear and despair of death.  Our hope is in Him. The Bible is very clear – that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. It’s not a matter of being a “good person”, whatever that means.  It’s not a matter of our works, even though they are important.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
 
The question becomes; have you put your faith in Jesus?  If you have, then death has absolutely no power over you.  If it means anything, it means victory!  You’ve simply crossed a finish line. If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, you need to. It is the only way to cross over from death to life.
 
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The Will of God

5/26/2016

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Picture

​Yes, it is out in the open.
 
It is God’s will that I love the Lord with all my heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5).
It is God’s will that I love my neighbor as myself.  (Matthew 22:39).
It is God’s will that I do not lie, kill, cheat or steal.  (Exodus 20:13-16).
It is God’s will that I remain sexually pure.  (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
It is God's will that I remain patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.  (Romans 12:12).
It is God’s will that I bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.  (Malachi 3:10).
It is God’s will that I act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.  (Micah 6:8).
It is God’s will that I should be sanctified; set apart for Him - holy.  (1 Timothy 6:11).
It is God’s will that I embrace all people regardless of their lifestyle.  (Deuteronomy 10:19)
It is God’s will that I speak the truth in love.  (Ephesians 4:15).
It is God’s will that I make disciples of all nations.  (Matthew 28:19).
It is God's will that I am gentle with a brother or sister who is caught in sin.  (Galatians 6:1).
It is God’s will that I reflect Him in my life, attitude, decisions and actions.  (Philippians 2:5).
It is God’s will that I turn from my sins and put my faith in Jesus.  (1 Timothy 6:11).
It is God’s will that I am no longer mastered by sin.  (Romans 6:14).
It is God’s will that I care for the needs of the people around me (1 John 3:17). 
It is God’s will that I invest in the lives of my children.  (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
It is God’s will that I remain faithful to the person I am married to.  (Genesis 2:24).
It is God's will that I look after orphans and widows.  (James 1:27).
It is God’s will that I trust in Him, not needing to worry about my life.  (Matthew 6:25).
 
 
God is not in the business of hiding his will from us.  It’s right there in his Word.
 
If, by God’s grace, I can focus on these things, which I clearly know are God’s will, I won’t have the time to wonder about all the other things that are not so clear.
 
But what about the things that are not so clear.  In those areas, does it mean that we can do whatever we want?  Of course not.  We still seek the Lord.  We still pray.  We still look for godly advice. – but we don’t worry that we’re going to go way off course – not unless it is very intentional (a good example of this was Jonah – he clearly knew God’s specific will for him and tried to run from it – and even then, he wasn’t successful).  You are not going to mess up God’s eternal plan – the plan that he had from before the creation of the world.
 
I wonder; and please don’t take this as a criticism, but I wonder if sometimes when we say we are struggling with God’s will, if the truth is we are struggling with trying to bend God’s will to our own will.
 
​What do you think?


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John Wesley's Self Examination Questions

5/5/2016

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​In 1729, while John Wesley was a student at Oxford, he started a club with his brother Charles. It was soon mockingly dubbed “The Holy Club” by some of his fellow collegians. The club members rigorously self-examined themselves everyday by asking the following 22 questions:
  1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
  2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
  3. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?
  4. Can I be trusted?
  5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
  6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
  7. Did the Bible live in me today?
  8. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
  9. Am I enjoying prayer?
  10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
  11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
  12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
  13. Do I disobey God in anything?
  14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
  15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
  16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
  17. How do I spend my spare time?
  18. Am I proud?
  19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
  20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
  21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
  22. Is Christ real to me?
​​“Encourage one another daily . . . so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13
​The first list appeared about 1729 or 1730 in the preface to Wesley’s second Oxford Diary. Similar questions appeared in his 1733 A Collection of Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the Week. As late as 1781, Wesley published a list of questions like this in the Arminian Magazine.

Wesley died on Wednesday March 2, 1791, in his eighty-eighth year. As he lay dying, his friends gathered around him, Wesley grasped their hands and said repeatedly, “Farewell, farewell.” At the end, summoning all his remaining strength, he cried out, “The best of all is, God is with us,” lifted his arms and raised his feeble voice again, repeating the words, “The best of all is, God is with us.”

The Holy Club never exceeded twenty-five members, but many of those made significant contributions, in addition to those of Charles and John Wesley. John Gambold later became a Moravian bishop. John Clayton became a distinguished Anglican churchman. James Hervey became a noted religious writer. Benjamin Ignham became a Yorkshire evangelist. Thomas Brougham became secretary of the SPCK. George Whitefield, who joined the club just before the Wesleys departed for Georgia, was associated both with the Great Awakening in America and the Evangelical Revival in England. Looking back from 1781 John Wesley saw in the Holy Club the “first rise” of Methodism. The “second rise” was in Georgia in 1736, when he met with selected members of his congregation on Sunday afternoons. From these grew the idea for “Methodist societies” which became the backbone of the Methodist organization. (http://www.ctlibrary.com/)
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    Pastor's Perspective

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